A machine of the type named above is described in DE 102 49 457 A. It includes several mowing and intake devices, which are arranged laterally one next to the other and which are assembled from a bottom cutting disk and conveying wheels, equipped on the periphery with pocket-shaped recesses, arranged above the cutting disk. The crop is conveyed through slots in transverse conveying drums penetrating the rear wall of the machine, supported on the rear sides of the mowing and intake devices in the direction towards the longitudinal midplane of the machine. Inclined conveying drums used as deflection conveying means are arranged in front of the intake channel of a chopping device of a field chopper moving the machine over a field. The inclined conveying drums take the incoming transverse crop stream and deflect it by 90° towards the back, so that it is led into the intake channel of the chopping device. The deflection of the crop towards the back by the deflection conveying means is made easier by curved deflection skids, which are arranged on the base of the machine between the deflection conveying means, and by a cover arranged on the top. Thus the deflection skids and the cover define front and inner limits of a deflection conveying channel through which the deflection conveying means transport the plants. The front end of the deflection skids also act as a crop stripper on the inner intake and mowing drums. A similar machine is described in EP 1 543 714 A.
Consequently, the deflection conveying means convey the plants along stationary surfaces, which requires a certain amount of energy due to the resulting friction. In addition, the deflection skid is subject to clogging under certain crop conditions.
Another machine for mowing crops having stalks is described in DE 37 12 507 C. It includes four mowing and intake devices in the form of drums, which rotate about respective vertical axes and which are equipped with entrainment means, and cutting disks arranged underneath. Two smaller drums are set adjacent to the longitudinal midplane of the machine, while two larger drums are set farther to the outside. The outer drums turn inwards and transfer the crop to stripping rollers, which rotate in opposite directions and which convey the crop inwards at its front side, in turn transferring the crop to the rear sides of the inner drums. The latter in turn output the crop into the intake channel of the chopping device of the field chopper carrying the machine.
Here it is considered a disadvantage that the inner drums must transport all the crop coming in on their side of the longitudinal midplane of the machine, so that their drivers must be dimensioned with large intermediate spaces so that they can receive the necessary, relatively large number of plants. However, this has the result that the plants to be cut at the front sides of the inner drums cannot be securely gripped due to the large intermediate spaces between the drivers. At least some of these plants fall onto the ground and are lost in the harvesting process.
The problem to be solved then is to provide a machine for harvesting plants having stalks, which enables an energy saving deflection of the plants into the intake channel which does not lead to clogging, without including the mowing and intake device arranged in front of the deflection conveying means.